HENCKELSForged Premio 18-pc Knife Block Set - Acacia

Forged steel, full tang, three rivets, heavy, great balance and they should last a life time if taken care of.

I bought this set because my relatives had a very nice set of Henckels knives when I was growing up.Amazon does not show a country of origin. The box states "Made in China". With the exception of the steak knives, the blades are marked "German Stainless Steel" and "Made in China". The steak knives are marked "Stainless Steel" and "Made in India".My only complaints, so far, are very minor things. First, the knife block is not optimally configured so the knives and shears might not fit exactly where you'd like them to and there are three empty slots. One of the India-made steak knives arrived with a very noticeable bend at the tip of the blade which causes it to catch on dish cloths and any other matter with which it comes into contact. The first issue is an engineering issue and the second is QC/QA.The prep knives are heavy and comfortable in my hand. The steak knives, while comfortable, are basically what I would consider a "free gift". They don't really add any value to the set and will be easy to replace. Edit: Well, I used the steak knives at lunch today on a pair of t-bones and they performed very well. Credit where it's due.Overall, I am happy with my purchase.

Purchased 18 Piece Knife & Block set. Product arrived in a timely manner with no dents, no marks and no damage. Accounted for all pieces included: 17 knives and 1 hardwood block. The block has two empty bottom slots (right above the steak knives area) and one big empty slot for other knives not included? Which knives would go there?ooms really tacky with no knives in those empty slots.DOES NOT INCLUDE:3-INCH, KUDAMONO PARING KNIFE5-INCH, HOLLOW EDGE SANTOKU KNIFE8-INCH, SLICING/CARVING KNIFEI thought it was odd that the steak knives set had "Made in India" etched on them and the rest of the other knives had "Made in China" on them. What gives? I thought these knives were made in Germany? The Amazon website lists J.A. Henckels International as the manufacturer with most knives made in Germany. But Wikipedia states that the company has "sub-stores" all over the world and some knives are made in Spain or China. India was not mentioned on the Wikipedia page.For the amount of money that I spent in this set, I figured that I would receive a genuine product and not something out-sourced from other countries rather than the original company country. I'm now skeptical about the product's quality, longevity and durability due to all the previous negative comments.I hope my situation is different. I would very much like to have a set of knives made in Germany.

Knives arrived and look to be of high quality construction. Very sharp.

After reading several reviews, I decided to hand down to my daughter our 15 year old set of Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives and replace them with these knives. The knife assortment in this 18 piece set is excellent for almost any kitchen task, except maybe cleaving. There are seven primary kitchen knives. There are four complaints that seem to run through most of the negative reviews. First, the packaging for the knives was exceptionally hard to open, being some kind of very hard plastic. Henckels must have changed this, because my knives were wrapped in cardboard sheaths and placed in a separate cardboard box inside the retail box. It was very easy to open with no tools required whatsoever. Simply slide the knives out and discard/recycle the packaging material. Second, many people mentioned the knives arrived rather dull. The 5 non-serrated primary kitchen knives were razor sharp (a fact confirmed by shaving a small amount of hair from my forearm, a practice my wife frowns on when witnessing me do this.) The two serrated knives(not including the steak knives) were extremely sharp but do not lend themselves to shaving my arm without lopping off a sizeable hunk of meat. Third, some reviewers have complained that the knives rust. I can't speak to this. Surprisingly, more expensive kitchen knives usually do not do well in the dishwasher or when washed and allowed to air dry. The composition of the steel, even when stainless, is formulated to hone easily to a razor edge, quickly, and hold that edge for a reasonable period of time until honed again. These qualities require a different steel formulation than that of stainless steel cookware or even serrated knives. This formulation is more prone to staining. The instructions with these knives highly recommend washing by hand and immediately drying. This is something I have always done with my kitchen knives anyway and because of this, rust or any other staining has not been a problem in the past and will not be for these knives either. Finally, a few reviewers complained that the knives are made in China. My response to this is "so what"? The manufacture of knives is 99% mechanized so I'm not sure it matters if that process is monitored by a German or a Chinese. The last 1% is the final hone of the blade, and as stated earlier, apparently the Chinese can do that pretty well given the hairless spot on my forearm. All in all, I would highly recommend these knives to someone looking to have an extraordinary set of knives at a reasonable price point. As it relates to the 7 primary kitchen knives in the set, it would not surprise me if it is the last set of knives I have to buy. The steak knives and the scissors are OK, well suited to the intended purpose. The steak knives in particular are made of a highly polished stainless steel that will likely hold up better in the dishwasher without hand washing and drying.

I ordered this set after reading a great review in Consumer Reports for the main 8" chef's knife, praising its balance and heft. I agree. The balance is fantastic, and I gave away my decades-old Sabatier knife within a week of getting this set.The knives arrived as sharp as scalpels. Some reviewers complained about the storage block tipping over, but ours was fine. I wish they stayed that sharp, but we used all the knives so much after receiving them that they couldn't have kept that fine an edge! The honing steel is good for a touch-up but you'll need to sharpen them properly every so often to get back that fine edge. Frankly I don't know if the German steel keeps that surgical edge longer than these, but it's not a problem to whip them through my power sharpener every few months to get back the razor edge. And it's a lot cheaper!A couple of the steak knives had bent tips from the manufacturing process, but customer service was excellent about replacing them. Frankly, a pair of pliers would have been all that was needed to straighten them out, but I'm not going to downgrade them for that after the excellent customer service.Highly recommended.

I chose these knives after a fair bit of research and am not disappointed. They are extremely sharp and are perfect for the home cook. They have an impressive weight to them and feel balanced in my hand. My only complaint (if you could call it that) is that it doesn’t come with an 8” carving knife. I will purchase one in the near future and add it to the block to make it a perfect collection for me. The block comes with a few empty knife slots, so there is room to add a few other knives. Proper care of these knives will keep them nice for many years (NO dishwasher or soaking in water!). I also purchased the Henkel knife sharpener to help keep them in top condition.

The knives are excellent, however we are lead to believe that they are made in Germany. They are made in China and Thailand. I was specifically looking for knives made in Germany, so just passing this info along to help you avoid that disappointment as well. Otherwise, the knives do perform very well.

Knives not as sharp as JAH knives usually are